Alabama

Offense, defense: Auburn looks to the fall

Mario Fannin is set to help lead Auburn's offense in 2010 (Birmingham News / Frank Couch)This story appears in Tuesday's Birmingham News:

AUBURN -- Neil Caudle smiled one of those knowing smiles at the prospect of heading into summer workouts with a starting assignment within reach but with his status unresolved.

"It's not the first time I've had to do this," Caudle said. And so it was that Auburn ended spring practice Monday with another quarterback race unfinished and a prediction that new starting tailback Mario Fannin will burst through the century mark next season.

Mario Fannin (Gold Mine photo)"Mario will run for 1,000 yards if he stays healthy. No question. Write it down. Bold letters," said running back coach Curtis Luper.

"The offense lends itself to it. And he has everything that you need to get that done."

Fannin replacing Ben Tate at tailback answers one of Auburn's questions, but coach Gene Chizik let the most glamorous question remain un answered. Who's going to be the quarterback?

"I feel like it's open," he said. "What are we feeling? There's got to be an order somewhere. Right now, we're just going to let them compete.

"I think there's some great competition going on in the position and, thank God, we don't have to name him tomorrow. We need more time."

Caudle knows the ropes.

He was in a battle with Kodi Burns for the starting assignment last spring but lost it early in fall practice to Chris Todd, who had missed the spring due to an injury.

Caudle redshirted as a freshman in 2006, played one game in 2007 and in two games in 2008.

This time around, it's a battle with Cam Newton, Barrett Trotter and Clint Moseley, though Moseley said Monday he's fourth on the depth chart.

Chizik said he has no problem extending the race into the summer and through the early stages of fall practice, if necessary.

Newton, a January transfer, said he has not been surprised by the competition.

"Everyone has their own unique talent," he said. "It wasn't, 'I'm going to Auburn because they're going to give me the starting quarterback job.' No. It's still unproven. Every quarterback brings something to the table, and everyone is talented."

Auburn otherwise knows much of what it will do offensively in the fall. It returns four offensive line men, and will fill the open spot with one of two junior college transfers who enrolled in January and practiced all spring. It returns its top wide receivers, and plenty of backups as well.

The only other position to be filled is at H-back, the position Fannin played last season when he was the Tigers' second-leading receiver.

The wildcard may be signee Michael Dyer, the running back that Luper promised Monday will be thrown in the mix when fall practice begins.

The defense flew under the media radar most of the spring, though it has plenty of work to do. Much of that may come in the first few days of fall practice when the signees appear and when several of the oft-injured veteran defensive backs are completely healthy.

They'll bring welcome depth to a defense that didn't have any last season. Linebacker Jessel Curry and defensive end Craig Sanders arrived in January and participated in spring practice. Three more line backers will be available in August to provide relief to starters Josh Bynes and Craig Stevens, who played almost every snap last season.

Last year's defense allowed more points than any team in Auburn history.

"It's a work in progress throughout the year," said defensive end Antoine Carter. "We're not there, but we're on the road to getting where we need to be."